Toyota responds to Dualis

Toyota will present the Urban Cruiser compact SUV concept at the Geneva Motor Show early next month.

It's hard to tell scale from the picture, but this new car looks to be no bigger than Nissan's Dualis (more here) and, reading between the lines, it certainly appears to be chasing the same market demographic as the Nissan, which has been a big success in Europe since its launch early in 2007.

Toyota has developed the Urban Cruiser as a small car that is environmentally responsible, but is aimed at the "urban all-roader market". Sound familiar?

The Toyota may even take the Dualis idea to a whole new level, since the company is heavily promoting the Urban Cruiser's green priorities, especially in the areas of fuel consumption and emissions.

If it goes into production, the Urban Cruiser would have to slot in well below the RAV4, which leads us to think that the new model might be even smaller than the Dualis; possibly built within a light car footprint, rather than a small car's. That would make it an SUV equivalent to the Yaris, rather than the Corolla.

To comment on this article click here